Foody Friends

[StuartR]

This puzzle comes from the same New Scientist article as Handshakes, but I haven't managed to solve this one.

Next up is a brain-teaser to relish from Alex Bellos’s book Can You Solve My Problems? (Guardian Faber).

Bellos recounts a peculiar situation that occurred among some foody friends: Sid Salt, Phil Pepper and Reese Relish. Bellos doesn’t tell us their genders, instead revealing that only one of them is a man. The man notices a rather amusing condimental kerfuffle: one of them has picked up the salt, another the pepper and the third the relish.

The person with the salt replies: “No one is holding the condiment that matches their surname!”

“Pass me the relish!” requests Reese.

Bellos gives us one more piece of information: the man doesn’t have the relish. Who has which condiment?

This might seem tougher than overcooked turkey, but there is enough information to find the answer. Bonus question: who is the man?

I just can't find enough information in this one.

[HansV]

Spoiler

The person with the salt replies to the man, so the person with the salt is not a man. The man doesn't have the relish either, so the man must have the pepper.
The next hinges on the assumption that Reese doesn't speak twice in a row, otherwise there would be two different solutions.
If Reese (who asks for the relish) is not the person with the salt, Reese must be the man who has the pepper.
So Sid must be a woman and have the relish, and Phil must be a woman and have the salt.

(If we accept that Reese could speak twice in a row, Reese would have the salt and be a woman; Sid would have the pepper and be a man, and Phil would be a woman and have the relish)

[HansV]

Now where does Mac the Knife come into this?

[StuartR]

Thank you Hans, I missed the assumption that

Spoiler

Reese doesn't speak twice in a row

but it looks good to me

[Leif]

Now where does Mac the Knife come into this?

I'll tell you for threepence

Otherwise, brilliant reasoning as ever!

[HansV]

By the way, ...

mac.jpg

[StuartR]

I love it...

[Rudi]

Nice one!